By Bonnie Schirato
Jan. 19, 2012
I tell our candidates and employees that we want them to be provocative. As I’m responsible for human resources in our organization, some may hear that and think that I’m just setting ourselves up for a harassment claim, so perhaps this is worthy of further explanation.
Less than three years ago, my current mid-sized company (about 240 people in U.S. and India) was formed as a result of a divestiture from a larger company quickly followed by two acquisitions. In our desire to create our own identity and culture and to further inspire the passion of our team, we’ve since developed our vision and values. “Provocative” is one of our five core values, and my personal favorite.
Internally, we define “Provocative” as “challenging the status quo, engaging in healthy debate, and making ‘smart’ mistakes.” So, in my simple “Bonnie-language” — ask questions, seek understanding, push back — whether you are a member of the executive team, or a college student working a three-month internship.
“Provocative” is my favorite value for a few reasons. It’s different — I challenge you to find another organization with “provocative” as one of its core values — but more importantly it’s setting the expectation that it’s not just “okay” for our folks to speak up when they have a concern or a question — it’s their “obligation.” Assuming we’ve chosen our team members well, we have 200-plus smart, motivated people in our organization, with healthy brains we can pick. If one or several of these individuals have a question, concern, or idea, we want to hear it, understand it, and address it. In my view, it’s ludicrous not to tap into this diversity of thoughts and insights.